Tugboat related issues, comments, and opinion.

Boston Harbor; The Chelsea Creek Inbound Transit

Daylight and clear weather, the perfect combination for making a transit of Chelsea Creek in the last days of autumn. The remains of the old bridge at Chelsea Street are still an issue, very narrow and not yet gone. When the removal of the old bridge’s bones is completed, this will be a cakewalk. But for now, the Chief Mate gracefully completed an uneventful and slick passage of this tight and challenging draw. It was a pleasure to watch, maybe you’ll think so too..

Fascinating! I watched several times over the work of the tug as you passed through the Chelsea Bridge remains. He pushed your bow to port immediately as you passed the old bridge piers. My guess is that you hadn’t the room with your tug in the rear to swing out to make that first turn on your approach to the fuel terminal. On departure, did you have to swing around there in front of the dock? Thanks for the front seat ride.

If the assist tug fails to lift the bow, the stern of the Nicole would be uncomfortably close to the right side as we cleared the bridge. So, in anticipation the assist tug leans on the starboard bow and we hold a right rudder and the steerage we’ve got to lift the stern away from the bridge fenders. Once my tug is clear I can maneuver to slow the whole thing down without worrying that I’m too close to shallow water.
As a side note, we’re only playing with 10 feet or so on each side of the draw, so we need to control the slide as we approach. The “real-time” video shows how long it actually takes.
Outbound we go further up the creek and use the turning basin to do our “about-face” then we’ll shape up to go straight through the draw and glide around the outbound turn. The assist tug will be towing us into the draw centering our approach. Once our bow has entered the draw the rest follows. After that it’s keeping her moving and steering until we get to the McArdle Bridge and the assist tug will help us make the last turn into the main channel.
Glad you enjoyed the ride.